Data mining in a digital map database to identify intersections located at hill bottoms and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a feature for a vehicle that enables taking precautionary actions in response to conditions on the road network around or ahead of the vehicle, in particular, an intersection located at the bottom of a hill. A database that represents the road network is used to determine locations where an intersection of roads is located at the bottom of a hill and then, precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate such locations. A precautionary action system installed in a vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, in combination with a positioning system to take a precautionary action as the vehicle approaches such a location.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/952,815 filed Jul. 29, 2013 now U.S. Pat.No. 9,035,804, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/200,562 filed Sep. 26, 2011 now U.S. Pat.No. 8,531,318, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, which is a divisional of Ser. No. 12/156,277, filed on May30, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,810, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein. The present patent application isrelated to patent application Ser. No. 12/156,264, filed on May 30,2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,810, entitled “DATA MINING TO IDENTIFYLOCATIONS OF POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR VEHICLE OPERATION ANDUSE THEREOF,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method and system that enables takinga precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warning to avehicle driver about a potentially difficult or hazardous drivingcondition on the road network.

Advanced driver assistance systems (“ADAS”), including active safety andfuel economy systems, have been developed to improve the comfort,efficiency, safety, and overall satisfaction of driving. Examples ofthese advanced driver assistance systems include adaptive headlightaiming, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and control,curve warning, speed limit notification, hazard warning, predictivecruise control, and adaptive shift control, as well as others. Some ofthese advanced driver assistance systems use a variety of sensormechanisms in the vehicle to determine the current state of the vehicleand the current state of the roadway in front of the vehicle. Thesesensor mechanisms may include radar, infrared, ultrasonic andvision-oriented sensors, such as digital video cameras and lidar. Someadvanced driver assistance systems also use digital map data. Digitalmap data can be used in advanced driver assistance systems to provideinformation about the road network, road geometry, road conditions andother items associated with the road and terrain around the vehicle.Digital map data is not affected by environmental conditions, such asfog, rain or snow. In addition, digital map data can provide usefulinformation that cannot reliably be provided by cameras or radar, suchas curvature, grade, bank, speed limits that are not indicated bysignage, traffic and lane restrictions, etc. Further, digital map datacan provide a predictive capability well beyond the range of othersensors or even beyond the driver's vision to determine the road aheadof the vehicle, around corners, over hills or beyond obstructions.Accordingly, digital map data can be a useful addition for some advanceddriver assistance systems.

Although these kinds of systems provide useful features, there existsroom for further improvements. For example, it would be useful toidentify locations on the road network where a relatively high number oftraffic accidents have occurred. However, statistics pertaining toaccidents are maintained by various different administrative entitiesthat use different formats, standards, reporting methods, reportingperiods, etc. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain consistentinformation about traffic accidents on roads in a large geographicregion, such as the entire United States or Europe. Moreover, dataindicating locations where a statistically large number of trafficaccidents occur may not indicate the causes of the accidents or howaccidents can be avoided.

Accordingly, it is an objective to provide a system that facilitatestaking a precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warningto a vehicle operator, when approaching a location where accidents mayoccur text

SUMMARY

The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing inthis section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. By way ofintroduction, the preferred embodiments described below relate to

To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises afeature that enables taking a precautionary action in a vehicle as thevehicle approaches an intersection located in or at the bottom of ahill. The precautionary action may be a warning message provided to thevehicle driver to alert the vehicle driver about the intersection sothat the vehicle driver can pay extra attention. Alternatively, theprecautionary action may be an actual modification of the operation orcontrol of the vehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuveringthe vehicle, or activating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionaryaction may be providing an input to an algorithm that also processesinputs from other sensors for taking such actions. In anotheralternative, the precautionary action may include a combination of anyof these aforementioned actions.

According to another aspect, a database that represents the road networkis used to determine locations where an intersection of roads is locatedat the bottom of a hill. Then, precautionary action data is added to thedatabase to indicate a location at which a precautionary action is to beprovided about the intersection of roads located at the bottom of ahill.

According to further aspects, a precautionary action system installed ina vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, incombination with a positioning system, to determine when the vehicle isat a location that corresponds to the location where a precautionaryaction should be taken. When the vehicle is at such a location, theprecautionary action is taken, such as providing a warning to thevehicle operator, as the vehicle is approaching an intersection locatedat the bottom of a hill. Alternatively, the precautionary action mayconsist of an actual modification of the operation or control of thevehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, oractivating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may includeproviding an input to an algorithm that also processes inputs from othersensors for taking such actions. Alternatively, the precautionary actionmay be an adjustment of sensitivities of other ADAS applications such asincreasing the control authority and sensitivity of a lane departurewarning or control system to lane edge approach and violation. Inanother alternative, the precautionary action may include a combinationof any of these aforementioned actions.

Further aspects and advantages of the invention are discussed below inconjunction with the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a portion of a road network with anintersection located at the bottom of a hill.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process that uses a database that representsa road network to identify conditions such as the one shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a data record formed by the process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a vehicle system that uses data produced by theprocess of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process performed by the system of FIG. 4.FIG. 2 depicts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts road segments 10, 12, 14 and 16. These road segments meetat an intersection 20. The road segment 10 is located on a hill 22, suchthat the altitude of one end 24 of the road segment 10 is greater thanthe altitude at the other end 26, which in this case is the end at theintersection 20.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process 100. The process 100 is performed bya software program or routine that is run on a suitable computingplatform, such as a database server, PC or plurality of PCs coupledtogether for parallel computing applications.

The process 100 uses a database 110 that contains data that representsthe road network in a region. The region may be a country, such as theUnited States, Germany, France or Korea. Alternatively, the region mayinclude several countries or an entire continent. According to anotheralternative, the region may include only a portion of a country, such asa state or several states or metropolitan areas.

The process 100 is performed by a map developer, such as NAVTEQCorporation. Alternatively, the process 100 may be performed by anotherentity that has access to an editable version of a map database 110. Forexample, the process may be performed by a customer or licensee ofNAVTEQ, such as a manufacturer of navigation systems or active safetysystems, or by a traffic information services company or by a governmentoffice at any level.

The database 110 is in a format that can be edited. That is, new orupdated information can be added to the database 110. Alternatively, thedatabase 110 is in a format such that new information can be combinedwith the original data to form a new database that includes both theoriginal data and new data. In one embodiment, the database is in anOracle spatial format. Alternatively, the database may be in deliveryformat, such as GDF (Geographic Data File), SIF (Standard InterchangeFormat), or other formats, including proprietary formats.

As stated above, the database 110 contains data that represents the roadnetwork in the region. The database 110 contains information such as thelocations (geographic coordinates, including altitude) of roads andintersections, road names, the three-dimensional shape of the roadsincluding curvature, slope and bank, speed limits along roads, turnrestrictions at intersections, addresses or address ranges along roads,the number of lanes each road has, lane width, lane markings, functionalclasses of roads, the locations of medians, and so on. The database mayalso contain information about other geographic features, such as bodiesof water, parks, administrative areas (including municipal, state andcountry boundaries), and locations of points of interest, such asbusinesses, hospitals, police stations, and so on.

In FIG. 2, the process 100 examines each data record that represents aroad segment (also referred to herein as a “link”) to determine whetherit represents one similar to the road segment 10 in FIG. 1. (The process100 may use a procedure that examines in turn each data record thatrepresents each road segment represented in the entire database.) In onestep, a data record that represents a link or road segment is read fromthe database 110 (Step 130). This road segment record includes dataattributes that indicate the altitude at each end (i.e., the nodes) ofthe represented road segment. The altitudes at the ends of therepresented road segment are compared (Step 134). From the comparison ofaltitude information, it can be determined whether the represented roadsegment is part of a hill. If the represented road segment is not partof a hill, the process 100 proceeds to a step in which it is determinedwhether all the road segment records in the database have been examined(Step 138). If there are more segment records to examine, the process100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130) and continues.

Referring back to Step 136, if the represented road segment is part of ahill, the process 100 proceeds to obtain the data that represent thesuccessor road segments that connect to the segment's downhill node(Step 142). The altitude of the successor road segments is examined(Step 144). From an examination of location of the segment's downhillnode, as well as the altitude information associated with the segment'ssuccessor segments, it is determined whether there exists anintersection at the bottom of a hill (similar to the intersection 20shown in FIG. 1). If examination of the location of the segment'sdownhill node and the altitude information associated with the successorsegments indicates that there is no intersection at the bottom of ahill, the process 100 proceeds to the step in which it is determinedwhether all the road segment records in the database have been examined(Step 138) and if there are more segment records to examine, the process100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130).

Referring back to Step 150, if examination of the location of thesegment's downhill node and the altitude information associated with thesuccessor segments indicates that there is an intersection at the bottomof a hill, the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 to thedatabase 110 (Step 156). There may be a minimum threshold appliedconcerning altitude change or slope that constitutes the definition of aslope of sufficient magnitude to be considered a hazardous conditionwhen associated with the intersection. This threshold may be differentfor different function class roads, surface types, urban or rurallocations, or other conditions. The precautionary action data 160indicates the presence of a feature in the road network where aprecautionary action may be taken. After the precautionary action data160 is added to the database 110, the process 100 proceeds to the stepin which it is determined whether all the road segment records in thedatabase have been examined (Step 138) and if there are more segmentrecords to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the next segmentrecord (Step 130).

The process 100 ends when it is determined whether all the road segmentrecords have been examined (Step 138).

It is noted that the process 100, above, performs a data miningfunction. The existence of the potentially difficult location, i.e., theintersection located at the bottom of a hill, is derived from dataalready collected and present in the database. It is noted that theprocess 100, above, evaluates multiple data items in the originaldatabase, to determine whether the condition exists, in this case, anintersection located at the bottom of a hill. By evaluating thesemultiple data items, a determination is made whether these multiple dataitems describe the condition of interest. If these data items dodescribe the condition, a new data item, i.e., the precautionary actiondata, is added to the database.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that shows a data record 200 in the database 110.The data record 200 represents a road segment located in a geographicregion. As explained above, the geographic region may include an entirecountry or continent. Accordingly, the database 110 includes many datarecords like the one shown in FIG. 3.

The data record 200 shown in FIG. 3 is exemplary and shows only one wayto represent a road segment. Databases may represent road segments invarious different ways and may include different kinds of information.The present invention is not limited to any particular way ofrepresenting roads.

Referring to FIG. 3, various data are associated with the data record200 that represents a road segment. This various data indicates featuresor attributes of the represented road segment. For example, associatedwith the data record is data that indicates the permitted direction(s)of travel. Also associated with the road segment record 200 are datathat indicate a speed limit, a classification of the road segment (i.e.,14, the type of road, such as controlled access, etc.), a rank (e.g.,1-4), the endpoints of the road segment, shape points (i.e., locationsalong the road segment between its endpoints). Also associated with theroad segment records is data that indicate the successors at eachendpoint. Successors are those road segments that connect to therepresented road segment at each of its endpoints. The segment record200 may identify these successors by reference to the data records thatrepresent the successors.

In FIG. 3, the database 110 also includes precautionary action data 160.The precautionary action data 160 is the data added to the database 110by the process 100 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the precautionary action data160 is shown as added to the road segment record 200. It should beunderstood that the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 withrespect to only certain records, i.e., records that represent thoseroads segments that meet the conditions identified by the process.Accordingly, the database 110 will contain data records that representroad segments that contain the precautionary action data 160 and otherdata records that represent road segments that do not contain theprecautionary action data 160.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the precautionary action data 160 isassociated with the road segment identified as being on a hill andleading to an intersection located at a bottom of the hill. In thisembodiment, the precautionary action data 160 includes severalcomponents. One component 160(1) indicates a condition type. Thiscondition type 160(1) indicates the type of condition about which aprecautionary action is to be taken, which in this case is anintersection that is located at a bottom of a hill. This condition type160(1) component is used when different conditions are identified in thedatabase 110 about which precautionary action may be taken.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is theprecautionary action location 160(2). The precautionary action location160(2) indicates where along the represented road segment aprecautionary action may be taken. The precautionary action location160(2) data may include multiple entries. For example, the precautionaryaction location 160(2) may indicate where a warning may be provided to avehicle driver to advise the driver about the upcoming condition, i.e.,the intersection at a bottom of a hill. In the case of an intersectionlocated at a bottom of a hill, the warning location 160(2) may indicatea distance (e.g., x meters) from the downhill intersection. The location160(2) is determined based on an analysis of factors, such as the slopeof the hill, the speed limit along the represented road segment, theroad classification, and possibly other factors. These factors may bedetermined from other data contained in the database 110. According toone example, the location 160(2) may indicate that a warning should beprovided at a location 400 meters along the road segment from thedownhill intersection.

The precautionary action location 160(2) may also indicate where avehicle control action should be taken, such as tightening theseatbelts, pre-loading or engaging the brakes, tightening sensitivitiesof lane departure warning systems or stability control systems, etc.This may be a different location from where the precautionary warning isprovided and would be based on a different analysis of factors.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is direction data160(3). The direction data 160(3) indicates the direction along therepresented road segment where the precautionary action should be taken.In this case, the direction data 160(3) indicates the downhilldirection. (Note that the database 110 may indicate a direction along aroad segment as positive or negative based on the relative latitude andlongitude of the road segment endpoints. Accordingly, the downhilldirection may be indicated as positive or negative.)

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is a reference160(4). In this case, the reference 160(4) indicates the location of theintersection at the bottom of the hill The reference 160(4) refers tothe node record that represents the intersection at the bottom of thehill.

The precautionary action data 160 described in FIG. 3 is one way thatthis data may be included in a database that represents a geographicregion. There are alternative ways to include the precautionary actiondata. For example, the precautionary action data may be included asseparate data records in the database 110. If included as separate datarecords, the precautionary action data may be associated with the roadsegments to which they apply by pointers or other suitable datareferences. Alternatively, the precautionary action data may beassociated with node data records, i.e., the data that represent theintersections at the bottoms of hills, instead of the road segmentsleading to the intersections. Various other ways exist and the presentinvention is not intended to be restricted to any specificimplementation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting components of a vehicle 300. The vehicle300 is operated on a road network, such as the road network representedby the database 110 in FIG. 2. The vehicle 300 may be an automobile,truck, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

The vehicle 300 includes systems 310. In this embodiment, the vehiclesystems 310 include a positioning system 320. The positioning system 320determines the position of the vehicle 300 on the road network. Thepositioning system 320 includes appropriate hardware and software todetermine the position of the vehicle 300. For example, the positioningsystem may include hardware 322 that includes a GPS unit, anaccelerometer, wheel speed sensors, etc. The positioning system 320 alsoincludes a positioning application 324. The positioning application 324is a software application that uses outputs from the positioning systemhardware 322 and information from a map database 330. The positioningapplication 324 determines the position of the vehicle 300 with respectto the road network, including the location of the vehicle 300 along aroad segment and a direction of travel of the vehicle along the roadsegment.

In one embodiment, the map database 330 is located in the vehicle. In analternative embodiment, the map database 330 may be located remotely andaccessed by the vehicle systems 310 using a wireless communicationsystem. In yet another embodiment, part of the map database 330 may belocated locally in the vehicle and part of the map database 330 may belocated remotely.

The map database 330 is stored on a computer readable medium 334. Thecomputer-readable medium may be implemented using any suitabletechnology. For example, the computer readable medium may be a DVD disk,a CD-ROM disk, a hard disk, flash memory, or any other medium, or aplurality of media.

The map database 330 includes data that represents the geographic regionin which the vehicle 300 is being operated. The map database 330 mayrepresent the same geographic region as the database 110 in FIG. 2, oralternatively, the map database 330 may represent only a portion of theregion represented by the database 110.

The map database 330 used by the vehicle systems 310 may be in adifferent format from the database 110 in FIG. 2. The map database 330is formed or derived from the database 110 by a compilation process thatorganizes and presents the data in a form and format that specificallyfacilitates its use for performing specific functions. For example, themap database 330 may be separated into different collections of datathat are used for specific functions, such as vehicle positioning, routecalculation, map display, route guidance, destination selection, and soon. The map database 330 may also be organized into groupings spatially.One kind of compiled database format is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,968,109, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein. Various other compiled database formats exist, includingproprietary formats, and the disclosed embodiment(s) are not limited toany particular format.

Included among the vehicle systems 310 in FIG. 4 is a navigation system340. The navigation system 340 uses outputs from the positioning system320 and data from the map database 330 to provide navigation-relatedfeatures to a vehicle user, e.g., the vehicle operator or passenger. Thenavigation system 340 includes applications for route calculation 344,map display 346, as well as possibly other applications. The navigationsystem 340 provides the navigation-related features to the vehicle uservia a user interface 354. (The navigation system 340 is optional and maybe omitted.)

Also included among the vehicle systems 310 is a precautionary actionapplication 350. The precautionary action application 350 uses outputsfrom the positioning system 320 and data from the map database 330 totake precautionary actions, such as provide warnings to the vehicleoperator. The precautionary action application 350 provides the warningto the vehicle operator via the user interface 354.

FIG. 4 also shows that precautionary action application 350 provides anoutput to vehicle control systems and actuator 356. The vehicle controlsystems and actuator are operatively connected to various vehiclemechanical systems, such as the vehicle's brakes 356(1), engine 356(2),seatbelts (including tensioners) 356(3), airbags 356(4), stabilitycontrol algorithms, as well as other system systems 356(5).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 400 showing operation of the precautionary actionapplication 350 (in FIG. 4). As the vehicle 300 (in FIG. 4) is beingoperated on a road, the precautionary action application 350 obtains thecurrent vehicle position from the positioning system 320 (Step 410).(During vehicle operation, the positioning system 320 continuouslydetermines the current geographic position of the vehicle 300 as thevehicle is being operated using data from the map database 330.) Thepositioning system 320 provides the precautionary action applicationwith data that indicates the current vehicle position with respect tothe road network as represented by the map database 330. Specifically,the location of the vehicle along a road segment and the direction oftravel of the vehicle along the road segment are determined and providedto the precautionary action application 350.

Next, the process 400 obtains data from the map database 300 thatrepresents the geographic features (i.e., roads, intersections, etc.) atthe current location of the vehicle and in the direction in which thevehicle is heading (Step 420). In one embodiment, an electronic horizonis used (Step 430). Building an electronic horizon and using it toprovide warnings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,405,128 and 6,735,515and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,151, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein. Using an electronichorizon and/or the inventions disclosed in these patents and pendingpatent application is optional and the disclosed process 400 is notlimited to using the electronic horizon technology.

After obtaining data from the map database 300 that represents thegeographic features at the current location of the vehicle and in thedirection in which the vehicle is heading, the process 400 includes thestep of examining the data to determine whether any precautionary actiondata (160 in FIG. 3) is associated with the represented geographicfeatures (Step 440). If there is no precautionary action data associatedwith the represented geographic features, the process 400 loops back toget a new current vehicle position (Step 410). On the other hand, ifthere is precautionary action data associated with the representedgeographic features, the process 400 takes a precautionary action (Step450). The precautionary action may be a warning provided to the vehicleoperator when the vehicle is at the location (i.e., 160(2) in FIG. 3)indicated by the precautionary action data. The warning may be providedvia the user interface 354. The warning may be an audible warningmessage or a visual warning.

The precautionary action is not limited to warnings, but may alsoinclude other actions. For example, in the case of an intersectionlocated at the bottom of a hill, vehicle systems 356, such as thebrakes, engine or transmission, can be readied for a quick decelerationor stop. In addition, the seatbelts may be tightened or the airbags setto deploy. As explained above, to facilitate these kinds of actions,additional information may be added to the warning data 160 (in FIG. 3)to indicate the type of action as well as the location where the actionshould be taken.

Referring still to FIG. 5, after taking the precautionary action, theprocess 400 loops back to get a new current vehicle position (Step 410).

Alternative with Dynamic Data

The process (400 in FIG. 5) was described as a way to use theprecautionary action data that had been stored in the map database totake an appropriate action in a vehicle when the vehicle is at or isapproaching a location identified as having a potentially hazardouscondition. This process uses a positioning system and map database inthe vehicle to determine when the vehicle is at or is approaching such alocation. The process may also take into account dynamic information.Dynamic information may include current traffic and weather conditions,ambient light conditions, road conditions (e.g., ice), and so on. Thevehicle may include systems to obtain such information. For example, thevehicle may have a traffic data receiver that obtains real-time trafficinformation, e.g., RDS-TMC messages. The process 400 may use the dynamicinformation in combination with the precautionary action data. Forexample, the process may modify the location at which a warning isprovided. As an example, if weather conditions indicate that it israining, the location at which a warning is provided to the vehicledriver about an upcoming intersection at the bottom of a hill may bemodified, i.e., adjusted to a point farther in advance of the locationof the hazardous condition, in order to give the vehicle operatoradditional time or distance. The process may even take certain actionsonly under certain conditions. For example, a warning about anintersection located at the bottom of a hill may be provided only duringnighttime hours. During daylight, the condition may not warrant awarning.

Verification

The process (100 in FIG. 2) was described as a way to automaticallyexamine records in a database that represents roads to identifylocations or conditions along the road network where a precautionaryaction might be taken. According to the described process, data is thenadded to indicate the location where the precautionary action should betaken. Alternatively, instead of automatically adding the precautionaryaction data to the database, the locations where such conditions areidentified could be marked on a temporary basis. Then, a geographicanalyst (or other human operator) could review some or all suchtemporarily marked locations. The analyst may conduct this review byphysically traveling to the locations or by reviewing satellite oraerial photographs of the locations, or video taken while driving by thelocations (previously or subsequently acquired either by the analyst orothers including members of the public). Based on the review, theanalyst then determines whether precautionary action data should beadded to the database.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded asillustrative rather than limiting and that it is understood that thefollowing claims including all equivalents are intended to define thescope of the invention text

I claim:
 1. A warning system adapted to provide a precautionary actionin a vehicle for a hazardous combination of conditions before a vehicleoperator or a vehicle sensor detects a condition of the hazardouscombination of conditions, the system comprising: a positioning systemthat determines a current location relative to the data representing ageographic region; and a precautionary action application stored in anon-transitory computer readable medium coupled with the positioningsystem and a database and responsive to the positioning system and thedatabase, the database being adapted to contain data representing ageographic region in which the warning system is being operated, whereinthe data includes data that represents a road network located in thegeographic region and precautionary action data associated with thoselocations in the geographic region where the hazardous combination ofconditions has been determined to exist, wherein the hazardouscombination of conditions comprises an intersection of roads located ata bottom of a hill the precautionary action application being operativeto provide a precautionary action when the positioning system determinesthat the current location is approaching or at a location associatedwith precautionary action data.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein theprecautionary action data further includes data that indicates alocation along a road segment which precedes the location associatedwith the precautionary action data at which a precautionary action is tobe taken.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the precautionary action datafurther includes data that indicates a direction along a road segment atwhich a precautionary action is to be taken.
 4. The system of claim 1wherein the precautionary action data further includes data that refersto the location of the actual intersection of roads located at thebottom of a hill.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein at least part of thedatabase is located remotely and accessed using wireless communications.6. The system of claim 1 wherein the existence of the hazardouscombination of conditions is determined based on data previouslycollected and present in the database.
 7. The system of claim 6 whereinthe existence of the hazardous combination of conditions is furtherdetermined based on a verification of the existence of the conditions ofthe hazardous combination of conditions.
 8. The system of claim 1wherein the precautionary action application is further responsive todynamic information indicative of current conditions of the currentlocation, the precautionary action application being further operativeto modify the precautionary action based thereon.
 9. A method forproviding precautionary actions for a hazardous combination ofconditions before a vehicle operator or a vehicle sensor detects acondition of the hazardous combination of conditions, the methodcomprising: determining a current position; accessing a database adaptedto contain data representing a geographic region, wherein the dataincludes data that represents a road network located in the geographicregion and precautionary action data associated with those locations inthe geographic region where the hazardous combination of conditions hasbeen determined to exist, wherein the hazardous combination ofconditions comprises an intersection of roads located at a bottom of ahill; and upon determining that the data representations of the part ofthe road network at, or being approached from, the current positioninclude precautionary action data, taking a precautionary action. 10.The method of claim 9 further comprising: building an electronic horizonafter accessing the database; and using the electronic horizon todetermine whether precautionary action data is included therein.
 11. Themethod of claim 9 wherein the precautionary action is provided via auser interface.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein the precautionaryaction comprises a warning provided to an operator at a first precedinglocation preceding the location associated with the precautionary actiondata, and readying a user for a quick deceleration or stop at a secondpreceding location preceding the location associated with theprecautionary action data, the second preceding location being closer tothe location associated with the precautionary action data then thefirst preceding location.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the warningcomprises an audible or visual warning.
 14. The method of claim 12wherein the readying further comprises tightening seatbelts or settingairbags to deploy.
 15. The method of claim 9 further comprisingdetermining the existence of the hazardous combination of conditionsbased on data previously collected and present in the database.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 further comprising determining the existence of thehazardous combination of conditions based on a verification of theexistence of the conditions of the hazardous combination of conditions.17. The method of claim 9 further comprising: responding to dynamicinformation indicative of current conditions of the current location;and modifying the precautionary action based thereon.
 18. The method ofclaim 17 further comprising: modifying a location at which theprecautionary action is taken based on the dynamic information.
 19. Themethod of claim 17 wherein the dynamic information comprises currenttraffic or weather conditions.
 20. A method for providing precautionaryactions for a hazardous combination of conditions before a vehicleoperator or a vehicle sensor detects a condition of the hazardouscombination of conditions, the method comprising: adapting a databasethat contains previously collected data representative of a road networkin a geographic region, identifying, based solely on the previouslycollected data, a data record therein associated with a location in thegeographic region comprising an intersection at a hill bottom andaugmenting the database to include precautionary action data associatedwith the identified data record, the precautionary action data operativeto indicate a potentially hazardous location at which a precautionaryaction is to be taken when approaching; determining a current location;accessing the database based on the current location to identify one ormore data records associated with one or more locations being approachedfrom the current location and determine if any of the identified one ormore data records are associated with precautionary action data; andtaking a precautionary action if approaching a location associated withany of the identified one or more data records determined to beassociated with precautionary action data.
 21. The method of claim 20wherein the precautionary action comprises a providing a warning at afirst preceding location preceding the location associated with theprecautionary action data, and readying for a quick deceleration or stopat a second preceding location preceding the location associated withthe precautionary action data, the second preceding location beingcloser to the location associated with the precautionary action datathen the first preceding location.
 22. The method of claim 20 furthercomprising: using dynamic information to determine the precautionaryaction to take the location associated with precautionary action data isapproached.